As it stands to make a long story short I was raised Catholic, was baptized as a Child, and then my parents slowly stopped attending Church and I spent some time attending almost no Church at all. At some point in middle school i began to attend a small local Protestant church which grew over time, then midway through high school I decided that I should go back to the Catholic Church. So I began to attend mass regularly. I gradually taught myself about the Catholic faith it was then that I wanted to receive the other two sacraments of initiation, but by this time it had been about 2 years and I had already missed a majority of the RCIA(Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) process So I would have to wait till the following year. So I did and this was also the year that I want off to College and it was lost in the transition. this was last year and it that very year that i was exposed to Orthodoxy at Pascha. This year i regularly attend an Orthodox Church and have fallen in love with all i have learned about the church, but I have also finally been able to find a local RCIA program which will have reached primary completion when i have receive the Sacraments i have longed for so many years, this Easter which is now less than a week away.I love both the communities at the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.I have developed a community with other Catholics through the RCIA process and the local Newman Center where I am on the choir.and also developed a sense of community with the Orthodox Church. I have also been to an Orthodox Monastery twice and I loved it, both times i never wanted to leave.In addition to that the Priest at the Orthodox Church I attend would like to set up a meeting with me. I need advice as to what I should do.

« Last Edit: March 29, 2010, 04:58:52 AM by RAR_PadrePio »

Logged

"Pray, pray to the Lord with me, because the whole world needs prayer. And every day, when your heart especially feels the loneliness of life, pray. Pray to the Lord Together."— St. Pio de Pietrelcina

As it stands to make a long story short I was raised Catholic, was baptized as a Child, and then my parents slowly stopped attending Church and I spent some time attending almost no Church at all. At some point in middle school i began to attend a small local Protestant church which grew over time, then midway through high school I decided that I should go back to the Catholic Church. So I began to attend mass regularly. I gradually taught myself about the Catholic faith it was then that I wanted to receive the other two sacraments of initiation, but by this time it had been about 2 years and I had already missed a majority of the RCIA(Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) process So I would have to wait till the following year. So I did and this was also the year that I want off to College and it was lost in the transition. this was last year and it that very year that i was exposed to Orthodoxy at Pascha. This year i regularly attend an Orthodox Church and have fallen in love with all i have learned about the church, but I have also finally been able to find a local RCIA program which will have reached primary completion when i have receive the Sacraments i have longed for so many years, this Easter which is now less than a week away.I love both the communities at the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.I have developed a community with other Catholics through the RCIA process and the local Newman Center where I am on the choir.and also developed a sense of community with the Orthodox Church. I have also been to an Orthodox Monastery twice and I loved it, both times i never wanted to leave.In addition to that the Priest at the Orthodox Church I attend would like to set up a meeting with me. I need advice as to what I should do.

Salve amice, as a Christian outside of the one holy catholic church (though divided in east and west), I have to tell you that Orthodoxy is the original plain simple yet holy peaceful church that God founded on earth.whenever I hear people say oh Christianity killed all these people in the name of God, by inquisitions and Crusades, I feel like I want to laugh at their ridiculousness and say to them: The Orthodox Church never killed anyone in the name of God nor did they inquisitions like in my ancestors' homeland, Spain."Oh, the Church tried to hinder and stop science", again ridiculous from a different viewpoint, the orthodox church never called Galileo a heretic, nor did they hinder scientific progress, in matter of fact an orthodox Christian Dmitri Mendeleev created the first periodic table.

Actually, just to clear things up a bit, there have certainly been outbreaks of persecution at the hands of Orthodox bishops, mostly before the schism. That being said, the Orthodox have been primarily the victims of persecution, and rarely the perpetrators of it.

Also, I disagree that the Church is divided (not talking about internal schisms within the Orthodox community), because from our point of view, the Orthodox Church is the whole Catholic Church, not just half of it. Since the Carolingian Franks uncanonically and forcibly deposed the Orthodox hierarchs of the western Church and replaced them with their own, I would seriously question the validity of the western Apostolic Succession. That's why in Muslim languages (Turkish&Arabic) and in mediaeval Greek, "Roman"=Orthodox Christian and "Frank"=western "Roman Catholic." Just giving you the facts .

Well when the day came I was not able to allow my self to be confirmed in the Catholic Church. I went to talk to one of the Roman Catholic priests about the entire situation, and after speaking with him earlier that day before Easter Vigil about the whole situation he was very supportive of the decision that I had made, he even encouraged that I take some more time in discernment.

« Last Edit: April 07, 2010, 04:37:42 AM by RAR_PadrePio »

Logged

"Pray, pray to the Lord with me, because the whole world needs prayer. And every day, when your heart especially feels the loneliness of life, pray. Pray to the Lord Together."— St. Pio de Pietrelcina

As it stands to make a long story short I was raised Catholic, was baptized as a Child, and then my parents slowly stopped attending Church and I spent some time attending almost no Church at all. At some point in middle school i began to attend a small local Protestant church which grew over time, then midway through high school I decided that I should go back to the Catholic Church. So I began to attend mass regularly. I gradually taught myself about the Catholic faith it was then that I wanted to receive the other two sacraments of initiation, but by this time it had been about 2 years and I had already missed a majority of the RCIA(Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) process So I would have to wait till the following year. So I did and this was also the year that I want off to College and it was lost in the transition. this was last year and it that very year that i was exposed to Orthodoxy at Pascha. This year i regularly attend an Orthodox Church and have fallen in love with all i have learned about the church, but I have also finally been able to find a local RCIA program which will have reached primary completion when i have receive the Sacraments i have longed for so many years, this Easter which is now less than a week away.I love both the communities at the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.I have developed a community with other Catholics through the RCIA process and the local Newman Center where I am on the choir.and also developed a sense of community with the Orthodox Church. I have also been to an Orthodox Monastery twice and I loved it, both times i never wanted to leave.In addition to that the Priest at the Orthodox Church I attend would like to set up a meeting with me. I need advice as to what I should do.

Christ is risen!

Go meet with the Orthodox priest.

Logged

Question a friend, perhaps he did not do it; but if he did anything so that he may do it no more.A hasty quarrel kindles fire,and urgent strife sheds blood.If you blow on a spark, it will glow;if you spit on it, it will be put out; and both come out of your mouth

I was a Catholic formerly and I converted to Orthodoxy last year. I was finally received into the Orthodox Church by the sacrament of Chrismation on Holy Saturday.

In Orthodoxy I have found a deep, rich and fulfilling spiritual life which has changed me completely. I still love many aspects of Catholicism, and I still pray to St Anthony of Padua, I sometimes pray the Rosary, I love learning about Catholic monasticism, I love Catholic chant, and I every now and then need a Catholic mass in order to get my fix for Western Christianity. As far as I see it, Catholicism and Orthodoxy are two traditions which represent two very different political and cultural spheres of Christian development. I look forward to the day when the two Churches are united in full ecumenical communion: I think it would be a much better representation of the invisible Body of Christ, the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.

That said, Orthodoxy satisfies me in ways which Roman Catholicism simply cannot. I personally find the spirituality of Orthodoxy to be richer and more meaningful, the theology to be more sound and closer to the theology of the Apostolic Age. Papal infallibility, purgatory, indulgences, original sin, the love of spreading AIDS, obsession with guilt, the child abuse scandals, and the very legalistic 'let's-make-concrete-definitions-of-things-we-can't-be-sure-of' approach to theology all make me very uncomfortable. Orthodoxy preserves the mystery of spiritual matters, rather than trying to understand everything through neat, convenient black-and-white definitions. The fact is, there is much we don't know. However, we do know how to rightly give praise and worship to the Trinity and how to celebrate the mysteries of the Lord, and Orthodoxy places a great emphasis on right worship, not just sound doctrine.

I strongly encourage you to explore Orthodoxy. Experience the Liturgy, learn about its mystic theology, and try to incorporate some Orthodox practices into your prayer life. Ultimately, open yourself to the Holy Spirit and let God guide you. I felt myself strongly drawn towards the Orthodoxy Church - perhaps you will find yourself spiritually drawn elsewhere.

I was a Catholic formerly and I converted to Orthodoxy last year. I was finally received into the Orthodox Church by the sacrament of Chrismation on Holy Saturday.

In Orthodoxy I have found a deep, rich and fulfilling spiritual life which has changed me completely. I still love many aspects of Catholicism, and I still pray to St Anthony of Padua, I sometimes pray the Rosary, I love learning about Catholic monasticism, I love Catholic chant, and I every now and then need a Catholic mass in order to get my fix for Western Christianity. As far as I see it, Catholicism and Orthodoxy are two traditions which represent two very different political and cultural spheres of Christian development. I look forward to the day when the two Churches are united in full ecumenical communion: I think it would be a much better representation of the invisible Body of Christ, the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.

That said, Orthodoxy satisfies me in ways which Roman Catholicism simply cannot. I personally find the spirituality of Orthodoxy to be richer and more meaningful, the theology to be more sound and closer to the theology of the Apostolic Age. Papal infallibility, purgatory, indulgences, original sin, the love of spreading AIDS, obsession with guilt, the child abuse scandals, and the very legalistic 'let's-make-concrete-definitions-of-things-we-can't-be-sure-of' approach to theology all make me very uncomfortable. Orthodoxy preserves the mystery of spiritual matters, rather than trying to understand everything through neat, convenient black-and-white definitions. The fact is, there is much we don't know. However, we do know how to rightly give praise and worship to the Trinity and how to celebrate the mysteries of the Lord, and Orthodoxy places a great emphasis on right worship, not just sound doctrine.

I strongly encourage you to explore Orthodoxy. Experience the Liturgy, learn about its mystic theology, and try to incorporate some Orthodox practices into your prayer life. Ultimately, open yourself to the Holy Spirit and let God guide you. I felt myself strongly drawn towards the Orthodoxy Church - perhaps you will find yourself spiritually drawn elsewhere.

Christ is risen!

Have you looked into WRO?

Logged

Question a friend, perhaps he did not do it; but if he did anything so that he may do it no more.A hasty quarrel kindles fire,and urgent strife sheds blood.If you blow on a spark, it will glow;if you spit on it, it will be put out; and both come out of your mouth

After a few months of being an Orthodox Catechumen starting on November 21, 2010. I was received into the Holy Orthodox Catholic Church by Chrismation on May 15, 2011 with the Archangel Raphael as my Patron Saint.

Logged

"Pray, pray to the Lord with me, because the whole world needs prayer. And every day, when your heart especially feels the loneliness of life, pray. Pray to the Lord Together."— St. Pio de Pietrelcina

After a few months of being an Orthodox Catechumen starting on November 21, 2010. I was received into the Holy Orthodox Catholic Church by Chrismation on May 15, 2011 with the Archangel Raphael as my Patron Saint.

Many Years!

Logged

Quote from: Fr. Thomas Hopko, dystopian parable of the prodigal son

...you can imagine so-called healing services of the pigpen. The books that could be written, you know: Life in the Pigpen. How to Cope in the Pigpen. Being Happy in the Pigpen. Surviving in the Pigpen. And then there could be counselling, for people who feel unhappy in the pigpen, to try to get them to come to terms with the pigpen, and to accept the pigpen.

Wow! It was great to read all 3 of your posts...and watch the transition!

This is great news!

Welcome Home!

Congratulations, and many happy blessed years!

Logged

Conquer evil men by your gentle kindness, and make zealous men wonder at your goodness. Put the lover of legality to shame by your compassion. With the afflicted be afflicted in mind. Love all men, but keep distant from all men.—St. Isaac of Syria

Christ my God, set my heart on fire with love in You, that in its flame I may love You with all my heart, with all my mind, and with all my soul and with all my strength, and my neighbor as myself, so that by keeping Your commandments I may glorify You the Giver of every good and perfect gift. Amen.

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Who can watch the watchmen?"No one is paying attention to your post reports"Why do posters that claim to have me blocked keep sending me pms and responding to my posts? That makes no sense.

After a few months of being an Orthodox Catechumen starting on November 21, 2010. I was received into the Holy Orthodox Catholic Church by Chrismation on May 15, 2011 with the Archangel Raphael as my Patron Saint.

I see you have Padre Pio as your avatar...do you mind if I ask - are you still devoted to him?Do you ask prayers for his intercession - or have you found an approved Orthdox Saint that you plan to switch to....?

Christ my God, set my heart on fire with love in You, that in its flame I may love You with all my heart, with all my mind, and with all my soul and with all my strength, and my neighbor as myself, so that by keeping Your commandments I may glorify You the Giver of every good and perfect gift. Amen.